Metal News for February 8, 2010

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News Archive

36 news articles posted on this day.

Guitarist Juan Juarez of Bonded By Blood has issued the following update from the recording studio:

"We are now on day 3 and close to getting all the drum tracks done. Its been a lot of fun just watching and playing along with Bimbo for the past 2 days recording drums tracks. He has for sure been working hard and has done a great job. Ralph definitely knows his shit, its been fun working with him. Today I will begin tracking all rhythm guitars. I'm really excited to get this shit done so be ready for destruction, my stupid hoes!"

Drummer Carlos Regalado also commented:

"So far the drums sound amazing, we have been at it for 2 days straight. We should be finishing up in a couple hours and finally moving on to guitars, just making sure everything sounds perfect and there's nothing that sounds funny or off time. Our producer Ralph has been the coolest guy ever to work with, I am really enjoying how the album is coming out, he really knows his shit. I'm having a blast making 'Exiled to Earth,' feed the beast was kinda rushed, I feel really comfortable and cant wait for everyone to hear how sweet this shit sounds."

Megadeth has announced that co-founder and former bass player David "Junior" Ellefson has returned to the band as a full time member. This reunion is appropriately timed to Megadeth’s upcoming historic month-long Rust In Peace 20th anniversary tour which launches March 1 in Spokane, WA. Ellefson and band leader Dave Mustaine were feuding for a small period after the band's breakup in 2002 and attempted to sue one another, as a result of which, Ellefson was not a part of the band when Mustaine revived the Megadeth name in 2004.

"This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness," Mustaine says. "David Ellefson belongs in Megadeth. Next we are going to show you the power of getting your asses kicked...HARD!

"We'd like to thank James LoMenzo for several years of loyal service on the bass, and wish him the very best." Mustaine adds.

David Ellefson concurs: "This is a huge moment for all of us, band and fans alike. It is a great celebration of the music from one of the biggest landmark albums of our career."

California thrashers Detente have have added shows at the RocK City in Zurich, Switzerland and Café De Vinbger in Den Haag, Netherlands to their upcoming European tour. The current schedule is as follows:

Elexorien has issued the following update about recruiting a new vocalist:

"New vocalist found! Hearken, proud Legions of the Blade, and hear our words, for we have been quiet for too long, now. Allow us to share something with you. Something out of the ordinary, really. A thing which fills us with great pride and honour, and which has changed our perspective for the better, from a reminiscent gaze at what we have achieved so far, to boldly looking ahead at a bright and splendorous future for Elexorien.

"My friends, we have found our new singer! Lotte - Vocals. Nineteen years of age, she goes by the name of Lotte, and she will manifest baffling new definitions of sounding the siren call. Numerous events are being planned as we speak, so have no fear of missing out on an opportunity to behold us in full glory once more in the near future. Exact dates and locations of said conquerings will be announced soon. We expect our Legion to be at its full strength, and present at all skirmishes. As always, we are looking forward to rush into the fray side by side with you."

Bay Area thrash band Heathen has posted another two tracks from the forthcoming album “The Evolution of Chaos.” The songs "Silent Nothingness" and "Red Tears Of Disgrace" are available for streaming now along with several previously uploaded tracks at the band's MySpace page.

Killswitch Engage embarked on their first ever tour of South America this past October, and brought along a camera crew to document the landmark trek. In this fifth video clip from the tour, which can be viewed below, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and drummer Justin Foley discuss baseball.

Arkansas metallers Living Sacrifice recently released their new album "The Infinite Order." The band has issued the following statement about the album's chart position and thanking fans for their support:

"Hi All, a big thank you to all who went out and got the new record last week, we are #4 on the Heatseekers chart and we made the Billboard top 200 at #190. We have never been in the top 200 before! So, we thank you for supporting our music and what we do. As many of you know, The Infinite Order was not picked up by retailers like Best Buy and Hot Topic. This is very much due to the nature of CD sales in general. And since we have not had a sales history for 8 years, some retailers have not taken the record. But we think that with a strong first week that they will reconsider. This will help keep sales of the record going after the first few weeks, and by being in these stores, it will give us a better chance to connect with new fans of metal. So, here is the 'ask.' If you happen to be in a Best Buy or Hot Topic, ask them if they have the record. And if not, ask them when will they get it. By doing this, it will let them know that there is an audience for Living Sacrifice, and hopefully they will respond. Again thanks so much for your support. We hope to see you on the road!"

Bassist Anders Hammer of Greek metallers Nightrage has issued the following statement about the band recording a new music video:

"Hey there, in mid-February, Nightrage will travel to Athens, Greece to record a video for the title track 'Wearing a Martyr's Crown' from the latest album with the same name. The director of choice is once again Bob Katsionis, whom the band has worked with before in the making of the video for 'Scathing' from their previous album 'A New Disease is Born.' Bob Katsionis has also worked with bands such as Rotting Christ, Nightfall, and Firewind."

Swedish death metallers Nominon have issued the following update about recruiting a replacement vocalist:

"Vokillist Ready To Deliver... Salute the hordes of darkness and despair... The search for a damn front man is now officially Over!!! Let us introduce you to the guy behind the microphone; Henke Skoog. Some of you suckers of the underworld might previously have take notice of his name, since he is also a member of the morbid deathsters Eviscerated. Witness the debut live performances of these deformed freaks during their upcoming mini-tour of Sweden in May 2010. You will see blasphemy..."

The creators of Rock Band have launched a new feature called The Rock Band Network that allows bands to add their own content to the game for fans to download. Sybreed has issued the following statement about making their song "Doomsday Party" available for Rock Band:

"Greeting folks, it is statistically likely that among our fans, some of you are the happy owners of a video game console, as well as the game Rock Band. Well, know that, as from today you will be able to destroy your precious fingers while trying to emulate the song 'Doomsday Party' (with the appropriate controllers of course: doesn’t work with kitchen utensils). And let me tell you, of what we have seen so far, you can consider it as somewhat 'Hardcore' regarding the difficulty: we aren’t even sure we Sybreed would be able to play our own song on Rock Band without failing miserably. Anyway, this for us a good opportunity to train an army of substitutes who will be able to perform a Sybreed show while we will stay at home: all the earnings will have to be transferred on our bank accounts, though.

"Anyway, here is the official statement: - Doomsday Party will be released on the Rock Band Network for the Xbox as a playable Rock Band game track when the store opens up. - Players will be able to emulate Drop's rhythms, Benjamin's tasty vocals, Kevin's brutal drumming, and Steph's kickass bass by playing along with synchronized coloured gems, representing each note. In-game lighting and camera directions let in-game avatars rock out unlike any Rock Band song before. - The track will be available to download on the Rock Band Network Marketplace for $1 or 80 Xbox points. - Authoring was completed by Roy Scott."

Texas metallers Vesperian Sorrow have issued the following update about working on a new album:

"Greetings Vesperian Sorrow Fans, we have officially (finally) started the recording of the new Vesperian Sorrow album. We started last Friday and are half way through the drum tracking process. Kris has been burning the midnight oil every night since laying down what we believe are the best sounding drums we've captured to tape (hard drive) yet! We will post pictures and I believe you will be able to follow us all the way through the recording process on that Twitter thingy soon as well. We will have drums complete by Friday and then immediately get started on guitars. Stay tuned!!!!"

Visions of Atlantis has issued the following update about appearing at the Metalfest Open Air 2010:

"Hey Guys and Girls! As promised I`ll give you a new Chance for Viewing VoA live before our new album (and new tour) comes out. We`ll be attending this year`s Metalfest in Austria on the 14th of May! For further information just check here to see which other cool bands will crush this great Festival Area with their performance and to secure your tickets!

"Also don`t miss the Chance to visit the Napalm Records Labelnight on the 12th of May (same place) where cool NR Bands will perform for the 15th Anniversary of Austria`s Finest Label in Metal!!! SO DON`t FORGET THE 14th of MAY, hope to see you there and having some beers afterwards..."

Strange Flesh has revealed the album artwork for the new album "In doG We Lust," which can be viewed here. The band has also issued the following update about seeking a new guitarist and recording new material:

"By the end of Feb. the band expects to announce their new 2nd guitarist from the pool of auditioned guys. Got a few surprises coming there. Biggest news though, is that Strange Flesh will record a 2nd CD BEFORE the summer. This CD will be a 5 song memorial to some very special people in their lives. It will be mostly acoustic and again feature artwork by Rainer Kalwitz. The album's title will be 'The Beautiful Dead.' This album will ONLY be available in a limited run through the bands online store. That store, as well as an all new revamped website will be revealed as the release date for In doG We Lust approaches."

Connecticut metallers Fates Warning have announced the release of the deluxe edition of their 1991 album "Parallels." Fans can get their hands on this new take on the album on March 16th, 2010. The deluxe edition has been completely re-mastered and contains over 3 hours of music and live footage. James LaBrie of Dream Theater also makes a guest appearance on the track "Life In Still Water."

Vocalist Ray Alder commented: "I think it's one of the best albums we ever put out and I'm happy that fans have the chance to take a second look at this important record. The lineup, the songs and the cover art all came together to make a great package when originally recorded and the bonus DVD really adds a fresh perspective to the album."

The track listing for the CDs and DVD in the set will be as follows: More...

Wuthering Heights have announced that their upcoming fifth full-length album will be titled "Salt." The album was recorded at Jailhouse Studios, Denmark by Tommy Hansen (Helloween TNT, Jorn) who also plays the Hammond organ. The cover artwork and a free MP3 of the track "The Desperate Poet" off the new album is also available for download at this location. The release dates are as follows:

Pittsburgh's traditional metal act Icarus Witch is on the road right now alongside original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno. Icarus Witch are not only direct support for the full tour, but are also acting as the backing band for Di'Anno's full set, taking on double-duty every night of the tour. There has been a venue change for the San Antonio, Texas show, and an Aurora, Colorado date has been added to the routing since previous tour announcements. The upcoming Icarus Witch third full-length album "Draw Down The Moon" is to be released February 9th via Cleopatra Records/Koch Distribution.

Swedish melodic metal act Lion's Share is confirmed for the RockWeekend festival this summer together with bands such as Astral Doors, Saxon, Deep Purple, Sepultura, Twisted Sister, and more. The festival takes place from July 8th - 10th, 2010. More info on the festival can be found here.

Lion's Share is currently offer a free download of the first single “Judas Must Die” from their latest album "Dark Hours." The download is available at this location.

Ireland's Mourning Beloveth is the latest act to be confirmed for this years installment of the Hell's Pleasure Festival, which takes place in Pößneck, Germany on July 23rd and 24th, 2010. The other currently confirmed bands include: Count Raven, Destroyer 666, Grave Miasma, In Solitude, Kaamos, Pentacle, Repugnant, Sadistic Intent, The Wounded Kings, Trench Hell, and Witching Hour. More information on the festival can be found at this location.

Atlanta, Georgia based metal outfit Mastodon has announced that they will be heading out on the road in April for a headlining tour in support of their latest album, "Crack The Skye." Joining them on the tour will be Between The Buried And Me, Baroness and Valient Thorr. Tickets for the tour will go on sale this friday (12th.)

Nu metal pioneers Korn has announced that they will be heading up north for a headlining tour of Canada next month. Joining them on the trek will be Five Finger Death Punch, who are currently promoting their latest studio album, "War Is The Answer" and Stillwell, the side project of Korn bass player Fieldy and underground rapper Q Unique, who are expected to release their debut album, "Surrounded By Liars" later this year. Korn will also be releasing a new album this year and are once again working with producer Ross Robinson, who produced the band's first two albums.

Recently signed to Victory Records, San Diego’s Pathology will enter Doubletime Studios today to record their label debut. Upon completion of the tracks, the album will be mixed in March by Hate Eternal guitarist Erik Rutan at his Mana Studios for a projected early summer release.

“We are excited to be working with such a death metal legend,” states drummer Dave Astor. “We are confident that Erik will help bring us to the next level of brutality!”

In addition, Pathology has undergone a line-up change with the new album with returning vocalist Matti Way and the addition of second guitarist Diego Sanchez (both ex-Disgorge) joining drummer Dave Astor and guitarist Tim Tiszczenko. The band will be adding a bassist to become a 5-piece when touring commences in May.

“We are very excited to be bringing Matti Way back,” states Astor. “We feel Matti is the voice of Pathology, and it would not be the same without him.”

Chicago's SOiL will be embarking on a series of U.S. tour dates alongside Smile Empty Soul in March. SOiL bassist Tim King commented on the tour: “It’s a great feeling getting back on tour throughout the U.S. virtually hitting every market. We are also looking forward to touring with Smile Empty Soul, whom I have been a fan of for years. Come out and hang with us. It’s going to be a party for sure.”

Woe Of Tyrants have announced that their upcoming album will be titled "Threnody." The new album will be released worldwide on April 13th via Metal Blade while the band will be on the road with Overkill and Vader. SiriusXM Liquid Metal listeners will be treated to an exclusive premiere of the first single, "Creatures Of The Mire," on Friday, February 12th.

Vocalist Chris Catanzaro discusses the themes of Threnody: "Well 2009 proved to be a monstrous one for Woe of Tyrants. It was a year of accomplishing goals such as releasing our debut Metal Blade album, touring with bands we've grown up listening to, and meeting thousands of awesome people all over the country. As we embark into 2010, our goals have shifted up a few gears. We have a brand baby spankin' new record that we finished recording at the end of 2009 with Jamie King producing, and to embrace the cliché 'this is the most epic brutal stuff we've ever done and we're stoked on it!' More...

Norway's Vreid has issued the following update about adding extra festival appearances:

"We are happy to announce 3 more shows for first half of spring 2010. On April 16th we will play at Turock in Essen, Germany together with Nactmystium + support. Shows with special guest: On 29th of April we will be playing at W2 in Den Bosch, Holland, and on the 1th of May we will play Fiesta Pagana Festival in Switzerland On both these shows + the show at the Ragnarok festival we will be joined by a special guest for some of the songs. More info on this will follow later."

Each week in "Unearthing the Metal Underground," we'll be putting a few quality underground bands in the spotlight in an attempt to get the word out about them. This week I am spreading the word from the San Francisco Bay Area metal scene.

The Bay Area's metal legacy began with the '80s thrash scene, which gave birth to Metallica, Exodus, Testament, and Death Angel. Neurosis entered the scene with their experimental metal, and Primus and Faith No More turned heads in what could only be referred to as alternative metal. Starting in the '90s, Machine Head evolved the thrash sound into groove metal. Currently, Ludicra, whose black metal has been in the scene since the late '90s, is generating a lot of excitement about their soon to release album, "The Tenant." Today, the Bay Area houses up and coming metal bands who not only reflect the heritage of the region, but filter in influences from a variety of genres. More...

Landmin Marathon and Brooklyn Vegan have made a new song, "Exist" (edit), available for free download. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Sovereign Descent," which is due out March 16, 2010 via Prosthetic Records.

"Sovereign Descent" was recorded at guitarist Ryan Butler's Arcane Digital Recording Studios, where he's recorded past efforts from the band, as well as Misery Index, Phobia, The Funeral Pyre and many more. The album was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (Converge, Hatebreed, Dillinger Escape Plan).

Martinez continued about the recording; "We are beyond stoked and anxiously awaiting the release of Sovereign Descent. We feel this is our strongest material to date both in writing and in performance. We cannot wait for fans new and old to hear this album and see the songs performed live on the road."

Landmine Marathon, whose sound has been compared to early Earache acts such as Bolt Thrower, Carcass, and Napalm Death, released two full lengths on Level Plane, "Wounded" and "Rusted Eyes Awake," the latter which was reissued by Prosthetic Records and several split releases. Vocalist Grace Perry was recently featured on the cover of Revolver Magazine and is a frequent contributor to their blog. The band has shared the stage with the likes of Tragedy, Kylesa, Saviours, Book of Black Earth, Coliseum and many more and will appear at this year's SCION ROCK FEST (March 13, Columbus OH) and at SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, the week of the release.

Landmine Marathon begins its next run of tour dates Arizona on March 6th, continuing on to an appearance in Columbus, Ohio for Scion Rock Fest, and down to SXSW for a string of dates yet to be announced. Here are the lates Landmine Marathon tour dates:

Belgian metal band Valgard has released their latest album, "Elements," online for free download from the band's official web site. Valgard "mixes folk metal, black metal and power metal into a steaming cocktail with melodic keys."

Finnish gothic metal band Memoira has issued the following update regarding the progress of the new album:

"We have been rehearsing and writing and arranging material for the new album like hell! The truth is we are really excited and Kati has been working a lot with the old ones!"

"About the new album! There have been a lot of discussing about making a concept album and now finally it seems real! The details of the story of the album is being developed but the main idea is a story about a night at the theatre! During the play an actress gets murdered, the crowd gets to escape but the remaining actors realize they have been locked inside the theatre with the murderer! While they begin to solve who is the murderer they discover horrifying truths about the play itself and about the other actors..."

UK death metal/metalcore band VIATROPHY has posted the following message:

"It is with great sadness that I have to announce that Viatrophy are splitting up. Gurneet has decided he no longer wants to continue with the band and wants to concentrate on a degree and different career path. As he and I were the main writing force, we unfortunately cannot physically go on any longer as a band. The tour dates on our page will be our FINAL tour. Merch will be ridiculously cheap and I will quite possibly cry. Book tickets early! The rest of us are as bummed as you. Thank you for all the good times. Thank you to everyone who came to a show, partied with us, gave us a place to crash, bought some shirts or a CD. To those who downloaded it, well… that doesn’t matter any more does it... Thanks I guess." More...

German metal band Mystic Prophecy has posted new tour journals from their tour with Stratovarius and Tracedawn at this location. An excerpt from the most recent entry from their January 20th show in Switzerland at the Z7 is as follows:

"Now it's time for us to go on stage, intro, 'Across the Gates...,' 'Masters of Sin' ... and then I usually talk to the audience. In which language? English or German? Never mind! German is okay. 'Hello Switzerland!' ... I barely hear anything. What the hell... 'Hello Switzerlaaaaand!!!' ... there is a murmuring among the crowd. Just like what happened to Tracedawn, only a few fans making some noise. Okay, we don't give up so soon. Pedal to the metal! Slowly the Swiss are warming up and look, after five songs we made it. They're cheering and clapping."

"During 'To the Devil I pray' Matt tries to tell me something and he points upwards. When I look this direction I see that there's an open window, three Tracedawn guys are standing there, making faces. And in the middle of them, there's their bassist presenting his bare manhood... hahaha. The guys are priceless and we're cracking up with laughter onstage."

Gaser, guitarist/vocalist of Kuwait metal band Depth, has posted the following studio update:

"So yesterday I recorded the 2 missing solos, now all music is officially finished. Today I recorded the vocals for songs 2 and 3, leaving 1, 4 and 6, yes you'll notice there's no 5. Wow, song 3 has truly developed into the soundtrack to your worst nightmare, and if you don't believe me, just wait and see, it wont be long!"

Gaser adds more recently, "OK! Today we've called it a rap! I finished vocals for songs 1 and 4 and recorded my parts for song 6, now ladies and gentlemen, the more you harass Sarj, the faster we can all hear the finished product. Get to it!"

California black/death metal trio VALDUR recently unleashed a new 7" via SatansMight/CultoftheHorns. The 7" includes two new VALDUR tracks, "Berserrker" and "Demon Wisdom" (exclusive to this release only). For ordering info and to view the cover art click here.

In related news, VALDUR will appear on a three-way CD split to be release via Necrovomit Productions later this year. "We got asked to do it and we had a really old song that we submitted, recorded in 2003," elaborates drummer Sxuperion. "The split will be with Killgasm and Shitestrom. We will have two songs total."

VALDUR is currently holed up in the Bloody Mountain Bunker writing their as-yet-untitled new full-length, scheduled for release this June. Recording at Trench Studios will commence at the beginning of March. Stay tuned for details.

The organisers of Britain's High Voltage festival has announced five more bands for the lineup. New Orleans supergroup Down will now be performing at the event, as will Gary Moore, Magnum, Joe Bonamassa and Northern Irish rockers The Answer. This will be the first edition of the festival and is scheduled to take place at London's Victoria Park on the 24th and 25th of July.